How to Fold Up a Pop-Up Pool Tent
The short version: stand the tent up, fold the top edge down to meet the base so it goes flat, then twist one side back on itself until the frame springs into a figure eight. Fold the two loops together and you have a flat circle that drops into the bag. It takes about twenty seconds once you have done it twice.
The video below shows the whole thing in real time. Written steps, and the fixes for when it keeps springing open, are underneath.
The four steps
- Empty it and shake it out. Tip any water out of the pool section and shake the sand off. Folding a wet tent straight into its bag is the most common cause of mildew spots.
- Flatten it. Stand the tent up with the opening facing you, take the top edge of the canopy and fold it down to meet the base. You should end up with a rough half-circle.
- Twist into a figure eight. Hold both sides of that half-circle and rotate your hands in opposite directions. The frame wants to do this — you are guiding it, not forcing it. It folds in on itself and forms two loops.
- Stack the loops. Bring the two loops together so they sit on top of each other as one flat circle, then slide it into the carry bag.
Why does it keep springing back open?
Almost always because it is being twisted the wrong way. The frame is a continuous sprung hoop and it will only collapse in one direction. If it fights you, stop and twist the opposite way instead — it should suddenly go soft and fold itself. Forcing it the wrong way is also how frames get kinked.
The other common cause is trying to fold it while it is still pegged down. Pull the pegs first.
How small does it fold down to?
Set up, the tent is 117 × 79 × 70 cm (46 × 31 × 27.5 inches). Folded, it becomes a flat disc a little larger than a dinner plate, which fits the round carry bag it arrived in. It is light enough to carry one-handed with a child on the other hip, which is most of the point.
Can I fold it up wet?
You can, but don't leave it that way. Shake the water out and let it air-dry before it goes into storage for more than a day. The canopy is 190T silver-coated polyester and 300 mm water resistant, so it dries quickly — but sealed in a bag while damp, anything will eventually smell.
Does this work for other pop-up tents?
Yes. The twist-and-fold is the same for essentially any pop-up beach tent, play tent or sun shelter built on a sprung hoop frame. The number of loops changes with the size of the frame, but the motion does not.
The tent in the video is our own Little Cubs Pop-Up Pool Tent — a shaded paddling pool and UPF 50+ sun shelter in one, made for babies and toddlers up to about age five.